Tournament Overlays Explained
If an online poker site is hosting a guaranteed prize pool event for $100K and the entry fee is $100.00, then they will need 1000 players to “cover” the guarantee. If only 900 players enter the event then the online poker site must then foot the bill to cover the $10K shortfall. That’s called an overlay and if you’re fortunate enough to find an event where the required number of players aren’t present to cover the guarantee, it’s typically a wise idea to enter right away. Overlays are common in HORSE poker and other mixed poker games.
The logic behind that is that with the guarantee and the number of spots that are paying out, you’re already ahead of the curve in terms of chip equity. Chip equity means the total number of chips you have in relation to the number of chips in play. Normally it’s an equal playing field but in the case of overlays, you get a little more equity right off the bat due to the smaller field and that’s a good thing! There’s quite a bit of math involved here and frankly, outside the scope of this article but suffice it to say, overlays are great.
To find the best overlays it’s wise to start with newer poker sites that are offering big tournaments to attract players. In some cases the overlays are much more in favor of the players. There’s been cases of big guaranteed events that pay out a guaranteed top 50 spots with only 250 players registering! While that’s an example of an extreme measure, the opportunities are definitely out there. Just over the last week there have been overlays at major tournaments at Full Tilt Poker and Bodog, to name a few.
In summary, if you’re itching to play a big online tournament take the time to seek out a few sites to find any overlays. The math is easy – just take the number of players and multiply the buy-in. If that amount is lower than the guarantee, there’s an overlay! Be aware that in many cases, the host poker site may allow late registration to ensure that the minimum number of players is met to cover a guarantee. While this may seem unfair to the players it’s a safeguard put into place by the poker sites to cover their interests as well. After all, if a site hosts too many tournaments with a big overlay, they may well not be around the next week to do it again.